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WILMINGTON — Shawn Thornton thought long and hard about it, discussed it with his own personal advisers and the NHLPA for hours, so much so that he stepped onto the Ristuccia Arena ice a tad late for this morning's skate. But in the end, Thornton decided against continuing the appeal of his 15-game suspension after commissioner Gary Bettman upheld chief disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan's original ruling on his attack on Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik on Dec. 7.Today was the deadline for him to appeal the decision to an independent arbitrator.